Beyond The Lost

15

I stood before the village, watching fire take their lives as their homes crumbled to the dirt. I held Victor in my arms, his blood soaking into my clothes and slowly creeping down my chest.

"Mary."

She appeared beside me, leaving the anger within me behind. She smiled at the burning village and then at me. "How did I do?"

"I'm still angry."

"I wasn't going to let you die." She placed a hand on my shoulder. "They deserved this."

"Is he dead?" I looked Victor in the face, his skin is pale and littered with cracked blood, bruises covering his head.

"No, but he isn't far from it. We should get him somewhere safe."

"Where?"

"Let's get you home." She sighed and began walking straight into the woods. I followed close behind. We actually didn't walk far before we reached a small pond and she took Victor from me, gently placing his body in the water. I watched him sink.

"It was right here... we were so close." I laughed painfully, relief finally resting on my shoulders. "If we had just kept going-"

"Don't do that. Just go home." She placed a hand on my back. "You did well."

"He'll wake up, right?"

"He's badly hurt. I can't promise his soul can be repaired completely, but he's resilient. He'll be okay."

"What about me? Will I be okay?" I asked her, worried I would never recover from seeing him in such agony. The image was burned into my brain. His limp body is still bleeding to death, right in front of me. "I don't feel okay."

Without a word, she wrapped her arms around me. "You're alive, be proud."

"I'm alive because of you. We would have both died if you hadn't come."

"I couldn't just watch. Not after what they did to me."

I hugged her back. "I'm sorry that you died in so much pain, Mary."

She pulled back, holding me by my shoulders. "I hope to see you again, but it's best you go now."

"Thank you. I mean it." I squeezed her one last time before I stepped to the edge of the pond and climbed in, holding onto the edge to look at her once more. She only smiled at me. "Protect him when I can't."

"That won't be a problem."

I let go of the edge and swam to the bottom, my head popping out of the other side. I gasped for air and quickly climbed out of the pond, finding the young boy from before hovering over Victor's body. "You're alive!" He jumped up and grabbed me by the arm.

I stared down at my hand, smiling when I saw all of my fingers had been recovered. "Barely."

"You were gone for weeks, I thought you'd never come out! I waited for you!"

I pet his head. "I appreciate that. How's he doing?"

"Ask him."

"He's awake?" I ran to Victor, who was laying against the edge of the pond with dead grass in his hair. It's a relief to see he's unharmed. His eyes are open, but he's not moving, just slowly looking around the forest. "Victor."

His eyes darted to me when I spoke to him. I could see him physically relax when our eyes met. "Hey."

Our clothes are no longer torn, but even without injury Victor seems to be struggling. "How do you feel?"

"I'm too tired to move, but it doesn't hurt anymore." His words are breathless, as if he can barely speak. "Your hand?"

"Oh!" I quickly displayed my hand above his face. "It's alright!"